1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical article and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of the Background
Published Japanese translation of PCT international publication for patent application (TOKUHYO) No. 2005-505427, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes a technology relating to a method of manufacturing an optical glass for edge polishing having a water repellant and/or an oil-repellant coating. Published Japanese translation of PCT international publication for patent application (TOKUHYO) No. 2005-505427, characterized in that a temporary protective layer imparting a surface energy of at least 15 mJ/m2 to glass is applied to a glass surface, comprises a step of removing the temporary protective layer to restore the water-repellant and/or oil-repellant surface characteristics of the glass.
In optical articles such as eyeglasses and sunglasses, a water-repellant and/or oil-repellant antifouling layer may be laminated, either directly or through a hard coat layer, antireflective layer, or the like, on the surface of an optical substrate comprised chiefly of glass or plastic. Many of the components that make up the antifouling layer (the structure of antifouling layer and antifouling conditions) contain fluoride silane materials to prevent viscous oily grime and facilitate removal. One problem with such surface coatings is that the stronger the water-repellant and/or oil-repellant property, the stronger the effect (the greater the tendency to slip) of changing the adhesive strength at the interface on convex surfaces sometimes becomes. In Published Japanese translation of PCT international publication for patent application (TOKUHYO) No. 2005-505427, the temporary protective layer is applied to the glass having a water-repellant and/or oil-repellant surface coating to obtain adequate adhesive strength at the holding pad/glass interface. Subsequently, the temporary protective layer is removed to restore the water-repellant and/or oil-repellant surface characteristics of the glass. However, the operations of forming the temporary protective layer and then removing it complicate the operation of manufacturing an optical article.